Lecture Center Renovation

The 236,000 square foot Lecture Center, constructed in 1965, consists of 14 tiered lecture halls with a total seating capacity of 3,025 in rooms ranging in size from 125 to 475 seats. These lecture halls are arranged along a pedestrian concourse that surrounds the academic podium’s central fountain and tower. The balance of the Lecture Center contains some classrooms, offices, support spaces, and mechanical rooms.

Approximately 50% of the campus classrooms and lecture areas are located in the Lecture Center. Because these lecture spaces are so heavily used, significant phasing challenges needed to be resolved to allow the University’s registrar to schedule classes while the building is being renovated. Through careful documentation of space utilization and course scheduling, the project team has demonstrated that there is adequate space availability to complete the project in approximately six phases.

Planning and design began in 2015. Construction of Phase 1 (Lecture Centers 10 and 15) began in the summer 2017 and was completed in the summer of 2018. Phase 2 (Lecture Centers 1 and 2) began in 2019 and was completed in 2020. Subsequent phases will be constructed over the next five years.